In The News

Still Waiting For The President's `Humble' Foreign Policy

Gustav Ranis February 12, 2004
"The world's only superpower now looks vulnerable," says Gustav Ranis, Professor of International Economics and director of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University. The US is at a stage where it has no "clear exit strategy" from the foreign policy muddle it has gotten into by taking a unilateral stand on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Al-Qaeda. Ranis...

U.S. Set to Get Tougher on Cuba

Nancy San Martin February 10, 2004
As part of its ongoing battle to isolate the communist regime of Fidel Castro, the United States plans to crack down on companies and people that do business with Cuba in contravention of US law. The US Treasury Department has identified ten Cuban companies that have helped US citizens travel to Cuba without the proper licenses as well as deliver goods via the Internet. At the urging of the White...

AQ Khan Issue Settled: Jamali

February 9, 2004
Four days ago, Pakistani President Musharraf pardoned nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, called him a national hero, and declared that Pakistan would not allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to inspect its nuclear sites. Several members of Musharraf's government have praised his stance on the 'AQ Khan issue' - in which the chief designer of Pakistan's...

UK May Tighten Benefit Controls to Deter New EU Immigrants

Patrick Wintour February 5, 2004
Responding to pressure from right-wing press and the Conservative party, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair now says he will consider measures that would withhold benefits for migrants from EU accession countries when they join the Union in May. Previously supporting the free movement of Eastern Europeans across the EU, Blair found himself isolated when Sweden imposed immigration controls a week ago....

Not Everyone Got It Wrong on Iraq's Weapons

Scott Ritter February 5, 2004
For years, Scott Ritter, chief UN inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, has maintained that Iraq's nuclear weapons program was defunct. Current evidence from David Kay's investigation suggests that Ritter was right. Yet Kay stated in his report on the Iraqi Survey Group's progress that "we were all wrong," ignoring the differing opinions of many UN workers. In this...

Interviews Deter Thousands of Chinese Brides

Cody Yiu February 5, 2004
In September, the Taiwanese government began interviewing Chinese citizens attempting to enter Taiwan on marriage visas. The program has successfully identified hundreds of fake marriages, and may have made the job of Chinese "snakeheads", or people smugglers, more difficult. Many snakeheads traffic in young girls, who have a harder time passing the entrance interviews. Some snakeheads...

Thai PM Risks Losing Populist Touch

Tim Luard January 28, 2004
Thailand's prime minister may be the next victim of the avian bird flu - politically speaking, at least. After denying the disease was a problem for weeks, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to change his tune when it became apparent that thousands of small chicken growers - part of his political base - were going to lose livestock and perhaps even their own lives. Thaksin has proven his...